Is This The End of Section 21?

On the 15th April 2019, secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire, announced that the Government is proposing to abolish section 21. The plans have been proposed to give tenants more security in their home and to end so called ‘non fault’ evictions.

Currently landlords can serve a section 21 notice giving two months to end a tenancy without a reason after the end of a fixed-term tenancy period. The government has said that their proposal will help to protect tenants from "unethical" landlords and enable them to feel more settled and secure in their homes..

Without the option of a section 21, if a landlord wishes to evict a tenant they will have little choice but to go down the section 8 route which currently takes a significantly longer amount of time. The government’s proposal also looks to make amendments to speed up the Section 8 process, introducing new grounds for possession such as when landlords want to sell or move into the property.

The Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, writes:

“The current legislative framework leaves tenants feeling insecure. They can be asked to leave their homes, with as little as two months’ notice, without the landlord providing any reason, using eviction proceedings under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. This sense of insecurity can profoundly affect the ability of renters to plan for the future, to manage their finances or to put down roots in their local communities.”

Prime Minister Theresa May assured landlords that if and when the law changes landlords will still have the power to end a tenancy as long as they hold a legitimate reason to do so under Section 8 notices. Plans to abolish section 21 are also set to be introduced in Wales and have already been introduced in Scotland back in 2017. The proposal will now go through the consultation stage and there are no set dates as to when and how the changes will happen.